Category Archives: Flint Residents

According to an article posted on The Lansing State Journal, the water in Flint, Michigan has finally reached a point where the lead levels are no longer above the federal limit. The water levels were showing 12 parts per billion of lead concentrate for the months of July to December of 2016, a massive decline from the 20ppb it showed in the six months prior. The action level according to the government is 15 ppb. The citizens and officials of Flint have been dealing with this man-made crisis since it was first made public in October of 2015.

Despite the lead levels being the lowest they have been in years, residents of the area are still being warned not to consume the water. They are being urged to use bottled water or faucet filters. The city is undergoing mass replacement of the pipes which could lead to some homes seeing a raised level of lead in their water. It is estimated that the replacement will take a few years. Michigan has allotted around $27 million towards the project.

It was found in October of 2015 that old water pipes were leaching lead into the water supply for Flint. The water breach is responsible for twelve deaths and has lead to charges against some government officials. It was found that city officials had not properly treated the lead water lines to prevent corrosion. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder remains committed to restoring clean water to the people of Flint and apologized for the water crisis which many blamed on him and his administration.

Residents of Flint, Michigan, received good news on Thursday. A U.S. District judge ordered the city and the state of Michigan to deliver bottled water to the doors of residents. Every home is entitled to four cases of bottled water per inhabitant per week unless officials verify a safe filter is present.

Community leaders praised the decision, which was based on a suit brought by the ACLU of Michigan, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Concerned Pastors for Social Action and a local resident. Now, Flint may be able to begin healing from the economic and health damage caused by years of unsafe water.

After news broke about lead contamination in the city, hundreds of thousands of donated bottles of water poured in. However, the city’s roughly 100,000 residents still don’t have a reliable source of clean drinking water, as their municipal system is not yet safe to use. The federal judge’s decision ensures that Flint residents won’t have to worry about where their next drink is coming from.

Not included in the judge’s order was how Michigan and Flint are to pay for the bottled water deliver, which is estimated to cost $9 million per month. Part of the difficult facing the region is the lack of funding for cleaning up the water supply. There’s no word yet on whether the state plans to appeal the decision.